Make Sure You're Pushing Towards the Interview Line

We’ve all been there. Searching for a new job can be one of the most daunting and frustrating exercises.

I am going to give you some tips that will hopefully take a lot of pain out of the job search.

However, let me state up front that the only way to minimise the pain, is for you, the job seeker, to put in some deep thought and strategising to put together a plan of attack.?This can take as much or as little time as you like but putting the effort into the planning stages will really help to get your CV to the top of the pile and in front of the Hiring Manager.

First Things First

Before you do anything, you should realise that this job search is not actually about you. Yes, you are the one who is looking to make the career move, but in order for you to be successful in this, you need to gain insight into your target audience’s pain points and how you will be able to solve their most pressing issues or fill their gaps.

Hiring Managers are very busy people and probably dislike the recruitment process as much as you do.?Make it easy for them to see how you will be able to address their problems.?They are not going to wade through pages and pages of CV to try and figure out why you’re a good fit – they will make that decision within the first seconds of opening your CV.

Recruiting is more about elimination than it is selection, so it will be your job make sure your value jumps out at the person reading your CV.

Getting to Know Your Target Market/Audience

• Do your research on the supply and demand in your field
• Is it a very competitive market, or are there only a handful of professionals who have a similar skillset to yours??This will have an impact on your approach
• Gather information from various channels: Internet; Speaking to various professionals in the field or industry; ?Use your contacts

By doing your research you will get to know what challenges your audience is facing, and you will be able to highlight the value you will bring.

This will also help you in the interview, and you will be able to ask more enlightened questions.

Building a Professional Brand

How do others perceive or experience you and how to you want others to perceive you?

A Professional Brand is your story, highlighting your skills, unique selling points (USP’s), what makes you stand out from others, the value you can add.?It will show your credibility and should elevate your visibility in your industry.

From your research, you will have a fairly good idea of your target audience which will give you the direction you need when building a Professional Brand.?

There are numerous online resources on how to build your own Professional Brand – go and take a look!

Your CV

Your CV is essential to getting you to the interview stage.

Appeal to everyone and you will appeal to no-one. ?Keep this maxim top of mind when crafting a professional brand, a CV and an online persona.

There is a reason that recruiters exist in this world and that is because we are able to find very people with specific skills and experience for our clients.?They want a Purple Squirrel (someone who has a very specific skills set), and then get paid for our efforts when we do find them. We sift through many profiles.

So, whether you’re applying to roles directly with the company or through a Recruiter, bear in mind:

• Show how you will solve the Hiring Manager’s problem/s: Your CV needs to reflect the relevant skills, experience and knowledge that you will bring to plug their holes
• Once you’ve gone through the exercises of building your brand, and getting to know your target market, you will have a good idea of who your audience is and how you want them to perceive you when reading your CV
• The mission is to create interest:?Your CV shouldn’t be an historical account of your life – it should be accurate and succinct document highlighting the skills and experience you have which align with the role you’re wanting to land.?Remember, this is about the person who is going to be reading your CV – what do you want them to see??
• You have 6 – 7 seconds: Research shows that a Recruiter or Hiring Manager will look at a CV for 6 -7 seconds before making a decision on whether to eliminate or read further (hrdive.com ; Harvard Business Review ; Indeed )
• Look at your CV in its entirety and make sure you are showcasing the relevant information
• Evidence creates credibility: Provide concrete examples to back up what you are saying (e.g. list the projects you led, the coding solutions you came up with to address certain issues, etc.)

Layout of your CV

According to the Nielsen Group (nngroup.com ) “…people scan webpages and phone screens in various patterns, one of them being the shape of the letter F.”?

What this means:

• “First lines of text on a page receive more gazes than subsequent lines of text on the same page.
• ?First few words on the left of each line of text receive more fixations than subsequent words on the same line.”

I would imagine that this relates to how people will scan your CV as well.

• White space is great – don’t over-clutter your pages with intricate columns, colours, formatting, photographs, logos, pictures/graphs/timelines.?This may seem boring, but it makes for a much more pleasant reading experience
• Make your CV easy to skim read.?This is how Hiring Managers will first view your CV and will be looking for key points
• 2 – 3 pages should do the job – you don’t want your reader to get bored. Don’t forget, the reason for this document is to highlight your relevant skills and experience for the job
• Make good use of headings and bullet points

Content of your CV

• Executive summary:?Keep this brief and to the point.?This can be your friend or foe!
• Education: ?If you have a very notable educational career, which aligns to the professional brand you’re building, include that under your summary, or you can add this information at the end of your CV
• It is a good idea to provide a snapshot of your skills – bullet points all the way
• Key achievements
• Start with your most recent roles, and as you go back further in your career, reduce the information
• Don’t include hobbies and interests unless you have some notable achievements there (solo ocean crossing! - you get what I mean)
• Don’t use jargon specific to your company that the reader won’t be able to understand

Online Persona

You should bank on Recruiters and Hiring Managers to look at your online presence, so make sure your professional branding filters into the social media space as well.?

This is another full topic, but suffice it to say that your LinkedIn profile should align with your CV.

In Conclusion

• This is about how you are going to minimise the Hiring Manager’s pain points
• Put yourself in the shoes of the Hiring Manager and make it easy for them to see your value
• Show, don’t tell
• Keep to the point
• Stick to your guns in terms of your professional brand – don’t dual brand
• If you put in the hard work upfront with identifying your target market and creating your professional brand, the CV and ultimately the interview are easy to navigate